To Succeed, Change Your Mindset

Wee Yen Lim left her good consulting job and moved from her home in Malaysia to Mexico to start her own business.

Yes, you read that correctly: she went to a new country and culture to forge her path to business success.

Today, she and her partner, Michelle Gutierrez, run Conspiracion Moda, the only designer dress rental company in Mexico.

What type of person takes that kind of a risk? We had to find out.

Interviewing Wee Yen, we discovered how she found the courage to leave the security of a job and her country to embark on her entrepreneurial adventure.

Central to Wee Yen’s success is a fundamental belief that obstacles can be best overcome by changing your mindset. Think about what CAN work, not about what is not working.

Her journey to create Conspiracion Moda’s successful business model was fraught with obstacles:

Wee Yen did not speak Spanish – so she began to teach herself the language on the plane from Malaysia to Mexico.

Her Asian heritage influenced her to be humble and not outspoken – so she started out writing to lots of people in the fashion industry sharing her business idea.

Her previous work experience and skills make it easy for her to work primarily at her computer – so she forced herself to get out and talk with experienced women entrepreneurs. She connected with many including one that became a mentor, Celeste North, founder of NuFlick.

Like all entrepreneurs she didn’t get responses from lots of people she contacted. She coped by having this mindset: “Rejection won’t kill you. If someone doesn’t respond to you, then all it means is that the time has not yet come for you to work with them.”

“Rejection won’t kill you. If someone doesn’t respond to you, then all it means is that the time has not yet come for you to work with them.”

Wee Yen quickly learned that the working culture in Mexico was different than how business is conducted in Malaysia. So, she adapted her work style.

Wee Yen describes herself as financially conservative and risk adverse about spending money. She realized her financial mindset would hold back the growth of her business. So, she kept reaching out to people until she found the right business partner. Her partner, Michelle, not only knows the Mexican fashion industry but she is also compatible with Wee Yen’s financial value profile.

Wee Yen’s original business idea was for a fashion swap but that did not work in the Mexican culture where women don’t like the idea bringing in their clothing and exchanging them for someone else’s. So, she pivoted her business model to a designer clothing rental business. She says, “There’s no need to die for one tree – there is a whole forest out there.”

What obstacles are you encountering in your business or professional journey? Could changing your mindset from what’s not working to what could work help you too?

Wee Yen shared this advice with women entrepreneurs:

Be stubborn with your passion but be open to new ideas. You have to believe your “baby is pretty,” even if others think she is ugly. This is a game that has to be played big.

For more about Wee Yen and Conspiracion Moda see my article in The Next Women Business Magazine. You can also find her here on Twitter.

Rania Habiby Anderson

Founder & President

Expert on the advancement of business women. International speaker and author. Executive coach. Former corporate leader. Angel investor. Author of UNDETERRED: The Six Success Habits of Women in Emerging Economies.

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Wee Yen Lim

Originally from Malaysia, Wee Yen now runs the only designer dress rental company in Mexico. She took great risk, overcame her own personality and cultural obstacles to start her business, and is seeing incredible success. Learn from her courage, experience and unique path.

Her advice to aspiring women entrepreneurs: "Be stubborn with your passion but be open to new ideas. You have to believe your "baby is pretty," even if others think she is ugly. This is a game that has to be played big."

Region: Asia

Fact: There are nearly 6 million formal women-owned businesses in East Asia (Asian Development Bank). In emerging economies, the highest percentage of women in senior management is in the Philippines, where women held 47% of senior positions, almost equal to their male counterparts. - Grant Thorton

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